Wednesday, 17 August 2011

Three Free Frog Facts


Try saying that after a glass of wine!

I was talking to my sister on the phone the other morning when I noticed two large eyes blinking out at me from the corner of the room.

            “Please help me,” the eyes were saying. “I don’t like it in here.”

Fact No. 1 Cats like to catch frogs at this time of the year. Mabel and Charlie bring them into the house without apparently harming them physically... although goodness knows what damage they do to the frog’s mental state of health!

Being a wimp I screamed and Mr A came to the rescue. He scooped up the frog and carried it gently into the garden. He returned with slimy hands and I yelled,

“Don’t lick your fingers!”

Fact No. 2  Frogs give off a poisonous slime when they get hot. The slime causes hallucinations and can be lethal in large doses. It does explain why princesses keep seeing handsome princes every time they kiss a frog but I wouldn’t recommend it as an alternative to Internet dating!

Mr A was only too pleased to return the frog to the garden as they love eating slugs [that was an extra frog fact thrown in for good luck!] but the frog didn’t hang around long enough for us to check if it was a boy or a girl frog.

Fact No. 3  Frogs have ears just behind their eyes. Boy frogs’ ears are as big as their eyes. Girl frogs’ ears are smaller than their eyes. It could be that girl frogs got fed up of listening to those amorous fellers with their extremely loud croaking calls and evolved smaller ears... or it could just be one of those strange facts of nature. 
Frogs are so cute... as long as I don’t have to pick them up!

    

26 comments:

  1. Well not a lot of people know that! Laugh! What a lovely Blog and so interesting. As for the female having smaller ears, it's do with all the noise the males make, well I think it is....!

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  2. Okay, that made me laugh an the pictures are adorable, especially the last one. I've learned something new today :)

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  3. Oh, I can't believe the cats bring frogs into the house. I used to work as a naturalist in a state park and had to take care of several toads, snakes, and turtles as part of the job. Not squeamish about those things, but still wouldn't like to find one in the house. Fun post.

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  4. I had no idea frogs ate slugs. I'm considering getting a bunch of them and spreading them around the herb garden! :-)

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  5. Fascinating facts. We get frogs in our garden from time to time. I shall be looking at them in a different way now, checking out their ears.

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  6. That title is a wonderful tongue twister! And the frog pics are delightful. My one memory of frogs is from the year I lived with first husband in Laie, Hawaii. After a rain, in the morning you would see dead frogs, who didn't look anywhere near this green, on the roads! It was interesting.
    Ann Best, Author of In the Mirror, A Memoir of Shattered Secrets

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  7. Hi Ros .. crumbs your husband must be a kind-hearted soul - to put up with all that screaming!! Interesting about the slime .. but hope Mr/Ms frog ate loads of slugs for you both ..

    Loved your story and the pics - especially Mr Cross Frog .. Didn't know about the ears though .. is that a tall tale - mind you it's not April at the moment ..

    Cheers and it's raining here - any more frogs brought in?! Enjoy the tipple ... Hilary

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  8. This is such a cute post. Love the pictures! I've noticed we have fewer frogs in our garden this year and the garden snake seems o be getting bigger. Hmmmm. Cheers~

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  9. I never see any frogs around my house, but I guess we don't have much to offer them here. I do recall hearing a tale about some wackos who were licking frogs to get high. Mmmm-- sounds pretty desparate to me.

    Lee
    Tossing It Out

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  10. Toads. I have lots of toads. I think they're lovely but they have an inferiority complex due to the fact that telling tales about toads is less popular than froggy fiction.

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  11. Hi Pauline, well the males do make an awful loud nose!

    Hi Sarah, glad you enjoy the post.

    Hi L.G. these cats definitely do. My daughter's cat does too. Must run in the family! That job sounds a fascinating one but I wouldn't like the snakes. No it wouldn't suit me!

    Hi K.C. people do encourage frogs into their garden for that very reason. Helpful little creatures, aren't they.

    Hi Bob, have a close look at your frogs but don't get too close. I don't want you to hallucinate or anything!

    Hi Ann, I remember an incident like that here. It was pouring and they were throwing themselves round all over the place.

    Hi Hilary, yes my husband is lovely and I'm glad you enjoyed the post.

    Hi Nancy, garden snakes! *shudder* And they eat lovely little frogs too. Isn't nature cruel.

    Hi Arlee, they must have been real wackos. One lick too many and they'd have been ex-wackos!

    Hi Christine, I'll have to write a story about toads. You've clearly highlighted a gap in the market!

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  12. Well,that was a good frog education. I was completely in the dark about frogs. If I ever get one for a pet, I'll know what to feed it and I won't lick my fingers. Mr A is a sweetie pie to rescue you and remove the frog.
    Cheers.

    Manzanita@Wannabuyaduck

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  13. I bet those poor frogs are completely traumatized! Poor little guys :)

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  14. What a lovely post! I hope you don't get too many more frogs brought to you as presents. Cats are so generous, aren't they?

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  15. Frogs are a sign of good luck, so hopefully good things will be coming your way soon! Mr A is quite the hero! I would've screamed too! Julie

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  16. I love this post! Frogs are adorable! :) My girls kept a pet toad for a while. It was fun to watch it eat ants.

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  17. Hi Rosalind, Come on over when you're finished licking your fingers so you can read your tribute! Julie

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  18. HI Rosalind, Interesting and entertaining post about frogs. I remember (which is a miracle) back in the 90's, that people would lick frogs to get high! They must have been desparate! Love the frogs! Thanks for stopping by my blog. I'm following you!

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  19. I'm going to show this post to my friend Meg. She adores frogs and will love it.

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  20. In our small garden there are loads of frogs and the odd toad. I love them! We don't know how they survive as they have high walls to contend with all round and no water. I think they must be under the decking - an unforseen advantage to all this decking that we all keep putting down perhaps..?

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  21. I loved this post. Reminded me of when I was a child and I brought a frog home (unbeknown to my parents). I filled the bath to watch it enjoying a swim. But when my mother came into the bathroom - erm, let's just say she was NOT amused!

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  22. Clever post; I quite enjoyed it! My cats brought me a frog (also unharmed) when we lived in Oregon. They weren't allowed out much when we lived there, so I wonder how many I might have received had they been allowed out more. I had no idea about the toxic slime, though. I caught the little guy in a jar and put him outside in a lovely drizzle.

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  23. Hehehe my mother is terrified of frogs, so they freak me out too. I can stare at them though, but like you I'll pass on touching one.

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  24. Over here we have a different kind of frog. The enormous rubbish bins that are situated in every parking lot, that tenants empy their own individual bins into for general collection, are known as 'frogs' - I guess it's because they're green and gobble everything that's thrown at them :-)

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  25. Frogs are really cute and these ones in your posts are particularly endearing. None compares to Kermit, though.
    Be well,
    xoRobyn

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